Every year Caesarstone invites South Africa's design institutions and universities to participate in the annual Caesarstone Student Designer 2016 competition. Each faculty submits only their top 5 entries into the competition for adjudication, selected from 2nd and 3rd year architecture and interior design students.
Mphethi Morojele reviews the 2016 competition brief.
This year's competition brief "Education & Incubation" was conceptualised by well known South African interior designer and longstanding competition judge, Dorothy van't Riet of Dorothy van't Riet Decor & Design Consultants.
"The 2016 brief took students to a place where they were challenged; where their thinking was challenged. It addressed agriculture and unemployment in South Africa, and required students to think about real solutions to some very real problems," says van't Riet.
The panel of judges for the Caesarstone Student Designer 2016 Competition: Mphethi Morojele, Dorothy van't Riet, Jonathan Anstey, Stephen Falcke and Stefan Antoni.
Last week the panel of judges, including Jonathan Anstey of Anstey Steynberg International, Mphethi Morojele of MMA Design Studio, Stefan Antoni of SAOTA, Stephen Falcke of Stephen Falcke Interiors as well as van't Riet, met at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town to review the submissions.
The Vineyard Hotel Conference Centre hosted the competition judging event.Judges begin their cursory overview of entries to the competition.
One of the founding judges who is participating in this (the 9th) Caesarstone competition, Jonathan Anstey declared this year's brief to be the best one yet, "The scope and relevance of this year's brief offered incredible depth to the design project students undertook and seems to have really inspired the participants," says Anstey.
Brief conceptualiser, Dorothy van't Riet is interviewed by the film crew on her thoughts on this year's entries.
"Although we had fewer entries this year, the competition level this year was the best to date," says judge and architect Stefan Antoni. "We have even recommended that the top three submissions be submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as viable projects to be considered for implementation," adds Antoni.
Judges Stefan Antoni and Mpethi Morojele discuss one of the entries.The judges consider their shortlisted submissions.The judges fiercely debating the top 3 positions.
The 9 finalists in the Caesarstone Student Designer 2016 competition are (in alphabetical order):

The finalists and their lecturers will be flown to Johannesburg to attend an exciting awards evening in Sandton where the top 3 places will be announced. The winning student and their lecturer win an all-expenses-paid trip to an overseas design fair of their choice, worth R100,000. The runners up receive R10,000 and R5,000 cash prizes respectively.
Good luck to all of the finalists! For more information on the judging panel, read our previous coverage. To visit the Caesarstone product website, click here.Think you have what it takes to be the Caesarstone Student Designer of 2017? Download the brief here and ensure your submissions are in by 14 September 2017. You can also stay in touch on Facebook or our official website. Watch the highlights from last year here.

Why Enter?

The 9 finalists and their lecturers will be flown to Johannesburg or Cape Town to attend an esteemed awards evening where the top 3 places will be announced. The winning student and their lecturer WIN an all-expenses-paid trip to an overseas design fair of their choice, worth R100, 000. The runners up receive R20, 000 and R10, 000 cash prizes respectively. We look forward to hearing from you and Good Luck!

3 Responses

Well done Dorothy – what a fantastic initiative
you will definitely change lives!
Keep up the good work and we are so grateful
for your fantastic creativity and your ongoing
ingenuity!!
Well done to all finalists
with best wishes from Allan, Margaret and all at Hirschs.